Walking Backwards
by gunslingerrr
Summary: Abigail Stattim's life has always been out in the open for everyone to see. What happens when she just wants to keep something for herself? Stiles/OFC
1. Act One: Scene One

Here's the deal: I've had a lot going on. And, when I saw a lot I mean seven people in my house the last two weeks, multiple visits to DC, and a half lucid Gram Gram. A LOT. I did have time to reread this story while we fumbled our way through the metro, and I didn't like it. So, I'm rewriting it. It would be better in the long run for you to reread it, not to mention I find it much easier on the eyes this time. Sorry if this was any type of inconvenience. Please let me know if you also believe this version to be better. Cheers!

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**Walking Backwards**

**Act One: Scene One**

Some people have this theory that a man's mind consists of these nice little boxes with labels printed out of one of those ridiculously expensive label makers and sorted neatly about to be recalled when needed. The theory explains why dudes tend to veg out in front of the TV or mindlessly play Halo for a few hours to relieve stress where as dudettes need to _talk_ through their problems. Stiles Stilinski's mind was not one of those minds, which was surprising being that he tended to keep everything else in perfect order. Blame his ADHD, but sometimes he just needs his pencils to all be the exact same height in their container which needs to be exactly ten inches from his computer.

Stiles' mind is a disaster. There are half empty boxes everywhere- items, memories, feelings spilling out all over the place, snippets of information floating around waiting to be recalled at a moment's notice, and let's not get started on the rooms and rooms filled with pop culture references. Scott's box is ripped and torn and taped back together with zebra print duck tape, it's also gigantic and overflowing. His dad has more than one box, same as his mom, but we won't go there. If you dig deep enough, okay not very deep, you can find two pristine boxes amongst the chaos: one labeled Lydia, the other labeled Abigail. In those boxes, you'd find a recollection of every time Stiles had ever seen the two girls or heard them speak, and more importantly, it contains a memory of every time either has spoken, glanced at, or unintentionally touched him. It's not very full yet, but the day is looking up for Stiles. Yessiree, this day will go down in history.

Lydia and Abigail have been attached at the hip since Abi moved to Beacon Hills. Rumor has it that they used to practice kissing with each other, which if true: _oh my god._ Stiles gets riled up just thinking about it. But, back to Abi. She and Lydia are very similar.

Not unlike Lydia, Abigail is rich. Also not unlike Lydia, Abigail's family isn't originally from Beacon Hills. But, whereas Lydia's home life isn't completely out in the open, Abigail's is. Her father, the eccentric millionaire developer, works mostly in L.A. buying, renovating, then selling mansions, while Abigail's mother, the not so eccentric nor as kind two-bit actress, flaunts their income. The family home, castle really, was built in Beacon Hills while Abigail was in fifth grade to her exact specifications.

Now, who the hell would give an eleven year old the the responsibility and authority to build a house? When that eleven year old shows up in her father's study one night with a sketchbook full of completely detailed blueprints for said house, her father can't really say no, especially after the year they'd had. Not to mention the nagging he had been getting from his wife about the hustle and bustle of the city and his daughter's big, hazel puppy dog eyes. After some tweaking, he drew up real blueprints and asked where his architect in the making would like to place her new home. They searched and searched for a suitable town with one word in mind: forest. The first time Abigail and her father, her mother had a gala, drove through the otherwise completely missable town, Abi stared with wide eyes.

The young girl's eyes flitted over every building, every nook and cranny, but mostly every tree. They pulled at her, drawing her closer. At first, it freaked her out, the pulling in her heart- like if she didn't move there right then, she'd end up there eventually. They stopped at a restaurant, Reggie's it was called, and ate outside where a hummingbird hesitated over their table. Abigail watched in awe as it hovered over her half finished burger for a moment before carrying on about it's business.

On the corner of Main and 10th, Abigail and her father decided that, yes, this was the exact, homey feel they were looking for, and after finding a suitable sized plot of land just outside of town surrounded by forest a week later, they broke ground. Her mother, in her very not kind manner, informed them that she hated the house and the town and the forest the moment they pulled up to Abigail's dream home. Abigail, while she didn't really understand how you could hate not only the forest but the gorgeous, ten bedroom, cathedralesk home, was used to it. Nothing was ever good enough for her mother.

So, due to her parents' jobs and her mother's noted hatred of the house, they left and Abigail stayed.

Not alone, mind you. She had her nanny and her butler and the maids. And, being that she was rich and therefore a part of the top tier of social hierarchy by birth, she eventually had Lydia.

Abigail didn't take notice of one Stiles Stilinski until eighth grade. He and his tan friend rushed into the cafeteria the first day and slammed right into the very busty, very hairy Martha the Cook who just so happened to be carrying out a hot pan of tater tots. Tots flew, boys cursed, and clothes ripped. Not the boys' clothes. In their scramble to get away from what was probably their first glimpse of tits in person, the two slid on the tater covered floor and right into Lydia Martin and Abigail Stattim. Lydia screamed, Abigail laughed, and Jackson Whittemore threatened to sue if they so much as accidentally grabbed his friends' newly forming curves. In the madness, Abigail reached out and patted both boys' heads as if to tell them 'No worries' right as Principal Kilan yanked both boys up and dragged them, quite literally, to his office. Stiles just gaped back at the dark haired beauty waving at him, giggling while Lydia screamed at Jackson to help them up. He was so caught up in her eyes that he didn't even noticing the death grip Principle Kilan had on his forearm until he was slung down into a chair in the man's office.

The next time Abi noticed the pale, scrawny kid who seemed to have gone through a growth spurt since the week before, he had his head stuck in his locker and was groaning about not being able to find his English notes. So, the next morning Abigail photocopied all the English notes she had taken that week and slipped them into Stiles's locker with a little note saying 'You're welcome. Abi.' Two days later, Abigail found a bag of peanut M&Ms in her locker with a sticky note on top. On the sticky note, scrawled in a print that would only be described as chicken scratch, was 'Thanks, Stiles.' Smiling, she wrote back in almost perfect cursive 'I'm allergic to peanuts' and returned the candy to Stiles' never locked but surprisingly pristine locker. The next day she found a Hershey's bar on top of her history book. And so began the weird, almost silent friendship of the rich kid and the, at the time, deputy's kid.

If you were to root around the two boxes, you'd quickly come in contact with Stiles' favorite things about the two girls. You would probably find a ten page paper on Lydia's strawberry blonde, not red, hair and her smarts, and another about Abigail's killer curves and, well, her smarts. Stiles liked smart girls. And, while everybody on Earth besides Stiles bought Lydia's stupid girl routine, no one, other than Lydia, even tried to surpass Abigail in English, or History. The girl could quote Fahrenheit 451 off the top of her head and write a freaking sonnet in one afternoon, not to mention name every U.S. president and their family members.

No one ever looped Stiles in with the smart kids even though the only reason he ever got bad grades was because he forgot to take his meds. There was no way Stiles Stilinski could focus, or stop moving, without his Adderall which meant some days it was impossible for him to focus enough to take notes. Luckily for Stiles, Abi always payed attention and always noticed when he was twitching a little more that usual, so he almost always found a copy of the notes from the day before in his locker. He should probably find it creepy, but he honestly just wished she had every class with him. Then he'd never be behind and could always watch her twirl her pencil between her oh so white teeth, and her perfect, size eight hips sway when she turned in a paper. Not to mention, the way she piled her dark as night hair up on top of her head every class only to pull it down again right before the bell rang. He always wanted to ask how it stayed so straight after being up for so long, but the answer would probably be some crazy hair product he'd never heard of. Plus there was no way in hell he, or any other boy, would ever get to have a full conversation with her without her boyfriend towering over them. Well, except Danny and maybe Jackson.

Dennis Little was on the lacrosse team, first line. He was 6'2", 210 lbs, and a year older than Stiles. Also, terrifying. He followed Abigail around like a big caveman. Stiles was pretty sure he even heard him grunt and say, "Abi mine," once. When Dennis came into the picture, Stiles had to get to school extra early to slip some candy into Abi's locker so he wouldn't be seen. The last thing he wanted to do was get caught in Dennis' girlfriend's locker.

During middle school, the lockers all had the exact same lock so all Stiles had to do was steal the janitor's keys and he could easily repay Abi for the notes. In high school, everyone bought their own lock. (Even Stiles, who, as noted before, never locked his locker until high school. He didn't want someone stealing the lacrosse stuff his dad had shelled out the money for. Have you seen the prices of lacrosse gloves lately? It should be illegal to charge that much for some fabric and padding no matter how well they protected your phalanges.) That would be a problem, if Abigail wasn't so damn smart. With the first set of notes, History, Abi wrote in her perfect, swirly script the combination to her lock. He never asked how she had gotten in to actually leave the notes; he just liked to think she was a magician. Again, he should probably feel violated.

That's where all Stiles' hopes of not leaving high school a virgin died. Lydia never took a second glance at him, and Abi had Mr. Ugh breathing down her neck. Not to mention, both girls were a little intimidating with their designer clothes and the way they waltz through the halls like the floor was their own personal runway. Sure, there were other girls at school he wouldn't mind dating. Pretty girls, smart girls. But, Stiles just couldn't get his mind past that strawberry blonde and that tan beauty. That's why when he was paired with the newly, for the tenth time that year, single Abigail as his partner in Biology, he literally fist pumped, after class at Scott's locker, of course. Not in front of her because that would be weird and creepy, and he needed to look as cool as he could possibly manage since she had told him, in that pretty, smooth little voice of her's, to meet her at her house that night after practice.

"I'm going to the- I'm going to the freaking mansion, Scott," he exclaimed, flailing slightly at the word mansion, to his best friend, who laughed at him. Dick.

"I know. You told me last period," the crooked chin'd boy smiled at his seriously overreacting friend. Sure, Abi was one of the most sought after girls in school despite being a freshman, but everyone knew that she was Dennis'. And, no matter how many times they 'broke up,' she would always end up back with Dennis.

"Yeah, laugh at me later when I call and tell you how we made out. How about that? Huh?" The smitten boy grinned, poking Scott in the chest. Scott just laughed harder while throwing his textbooks into his locker.

"Stiles, this is Beacon Hills, not some stupid TV show." Scott couldn't believe Stiles actually thought working on a project with Abigail Stattim would end in a make out session. Well, maybe he could. Stiles' imagination always ran wild when he didn't take enough Adderall, and Stiles had definitely not had enough today.

"You know what? I don't even care. You're just jealous," Stiles shrugged in that overzealous way that only he could.

"Jealous?" Scott scoffed, closing and locking his locker before turning to face his friend.

"Yeah," Stiles reasoned, turning to walk down the hall to the locker room, Scott following beside him. "You're jealous because I'm going to the mansio-"

He was cut short by a curvy, dark haired girl who stopped suddenly in front of him and his best friend, smiling that smile that made his knees weak.

"Ohey, Abi." He tried to save himself after almost running his crush over, and flailing embarrassingly, by adding, "I was just telling Scott that I couldn't come over because I had to work on that project. With you. At your house."

He wasn't succeeding in smoothing it over, and the way she was smiling up at him with those adorable smile lines just made him even more flustered and twitchy.

"Mmhmm," she nodded, glancing at Scott before adding, "I just wanted to make sure that Hawaiian pizza was okay for supper. Todd needs to know beforehand."

"T-todd?" Stiles stammered, rubbing his neck while his other hand moved to his waist, pulling his plaid over shirt up just a bit. His mind went a bit haywire at hearing another man's name come from her mouth. Who was Todd? Did he know a Todd? Was there a Todd at their school? Wasn't there a gay dude named Todd? Yeah, Danny hung out with him. He was a few years older. He was gay, wasn't he? Or maybe-

"My chef."

_Oh._

Just as Stiles was calming down from his near heart attack, Abi cocked her head slightly to the side and slipped her bottom lip just barely in between her teeth. The action just made Stiles even more flustered, and Scott began chuckling beside him.

"Stiles loves Hawaiian pizza," his friend interjected when Stiles stared a little too long at Abi's perfect mouth without answering.

"Y-yeah. Hawaiian. Yeah," he nodded frantically.

Abi released her lip only to slide her tongue out over it before breaking out into a grin and nodding back. "Okay. Well, I have to get to softball practice. I'll see you later, Stiles."

"Yeah. Later," he replied while quickly moving around her and basically running down the hall to the locker room. When he got inside, he slammed his back into the first row of lockers inside the door and tried to control his rapid breathing. The entire team stopped changing and turned to stare at the hyperactive teenager for a moment before going about their business. When Scott entered the room a few minutes later, he stopped in the doorway to laugh at his friend.

"You can't even stand in front of her and tell her you like Hawaiian pizza, and you think tonight is going to end in a make out session?" He whispered, lowering his head toward Stiles' terrified face.

"What am I gonna do?" Stiles asked, desperation dripping from his voice, eyes wide as basketballs.

Scott shook his head and moved to their lockers in the middle of the room to begin getting ready for practice, Stiles following quickly behind him.

"Scott, she-" Stiles quickly looked around, making sure that Abi's ex-boyfriend was nowhere in sight before leaning down toward Scott. "What am I supposed to do?"

Scott tittered some more, throwing his backpack down and pulling his practice jersey and pads down from the hanger. Stiles look like he was about to have a panic attack. His breathing was labored and his eyes darted around the room; he was turning a little green.

"Dude, you gotta calm down," Scott patted his friend's shoulder and started to pull on his pads.

Stiles huffed in a few more breathes before muttering, "Yeah. Calm down. Calm. Down. Caaaaalm dooooooown," and spinning in a circle. He suddenly stopped and let his head fall against where his and Scott's lockers joined.

Scott's eyes rolled at Stiles's inexperience with girls. Not that he had any more than Stiles, but he liked to think that if he was ever as infatuated with a girl as Stiles was, he would definitely handle going to their house better. "Stiles, man. You are gonna freak her out and then not only will she never speak to you again, which by the way would equal no make out session, you would fail the project and become the school's new laughing stock."

Stiles closed his eyes for a second and took a few breaths through his nose, before turning abruptly to his friend. "Yeah, okay. I'll be cool. She's just another girl. Just another biology project. It'll be fun and not humiliating."

He wasn't wrong, about the humiliating part at least. Stiles knew that the 'just another girl' and the 'just another biology project,' not to mention the 'I'll be cool' part, were definitely not true as soon as he was greeted at their door by the Stattim's butler, who called Abigail downstairs. She had changed from her white top, skinny jeans, and boots to a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tight, long sleeve shirt. All Stiles could think was, 'She's practically naked!'

Never had he seen her this dressed down, except PJ day during homecoming week. That was a memory packed away neatly in her box to be recovered whenever he pleased. He'd wore his Batman pajamas complete with a freaking awesome cape on the back of his shirt and black high top Converse despite Scott's grumbling about being nerds, and Abi had wore a tank top and tiny little cotton shorts that Stiles was sure should be illegal, which would have been a great enough memory to keep in and of itself, but then she had grinned at him as they passed in the hallway and said, "Holy awesome PJ's, Batman!" and that solidified it in his mind. He may or may not have almost tripped over himself and Scott may or may not have had to grab hold of him to avoid them running into the middle of a group of seniors. She also may have saw and laughed.

Even with that blunder on his record along with many, many others, he was positive as he stared at Abi with his mouth hanging open like a dope and his heart hammering away in his chest that there was no way he was going to live trough this night with his dignity intact. No way in hell.


	2. Act One: Scene Two

Here it is! It'd be radd if ya'll could review and let me know what you think of the changes and additions. Also, I'm like a puppy. If you pet me and give me some snacks and words of encouragement, I will never leave you. XOXO ~hsc

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**Walking Backwards**

**Act One: Scene Two**

Abigail Stattim was sick of relationships. Could she say that? She'd really only had one relationship, but it had sucked majorly. Dennis was, in short, a jerk. He was handsome, and tall, and not bad in bed, but when it came to the actual relationship part of their relationship, he was god awful. He'd call at three in the morning and get mad at Abi for not wanting to talk about how he'd seen some chick's tits at a party. Seriously. Abigail had absolutely no idea why she stayed with that stupid jerkhole other than the fact that he was the one to take her virginity, and that was no reason to stay with someone.

That was a lie. She had loved him, or she thought what she felt was called love. At first, all she wanted to do was curl up with him in the middle of some moss somewhere and sing Jason Mraz songs together and read _Pride and Predjudice_ to him and trace patterns on his skin until end of time- and, she thought he wanted that, too. But, after a few months, more than a few fucks, his attention began to waiver, and instead of spending their days together, her doing his homework and him smoking next to her, they went out every night. Sometimes they ended up at a party, sometimes they ended up at some random person's house, and sometimes they didn't end up anywhere- they just floated from the park to the school parking lot to WalMart, stopping only to fill up the tank to his truck or pick up more weed. Eventually, he got tired of her asking for more 'them time' and stopped asking her to come out at all. He settled for holding her hand in school and calling her only when the loose fluzzies weren't enough or to brag. Through it all she still thought she loved him, and then she realized she didn't. It wasn't like a switch had flipped or anything, it was more like an electric current shot through her one night, leaving her to question the very existence of human love. So, she cut it off. Again. This time it was for good.

She was aware, however, that everyone in town knew. She was aware of how everyone in town thought they would get back together. And, she was aware of the stares that followed her, or more specifically her ass, through the halls the days after. She had even gotten the third degree from Lydia for 'breaking Dennis's heart,' which was a laugh. And, just like she had tried to explain to Lydia over and over again, she didn't care.

She didn't care that Dennis was pissed and screwed shortstop, right field, and the second string pitcher of her very own softball team. He could screw the entire school and she still wouldn't care. Well, she would care if he screwed Lydia, but only because Lydia and Jackson were perfect together. Another thing that she didn't care about was how Dennis was going around telling everyone to not even try to get with her because he just knew she was going to come crawling back to him. Like hell she was, and she didn't want a relationship anyway. Sex, maybe. It had been a week, and while their relationship as a couple was terrible, their sexual relationship was pretty good. Going an entire week with no sex was putting her on edge, not to mention the fact that sex helped her sleep. Sex plus sleep equals one happy and satisfied Abi. The absence of one meant the absence of the other and that never equaled a happy Abigail. Ever.

She had snapped at DeeDee that morning for opening her curtains too quickly. How entitled and rude was that? People already thought she was snobby because she was rich and lived in a castle, and now she was snapping at her DeeDee for something so petty. DeeDee had forgiven her, of course, and even blamed it on Abi's recent break up. "I never liked tha' boy anyway," she had reasoned. That put Abi in a decent mood to start the day, which is all the fifteen year old could really ask for.

Her mood skyrocketed, however, when Mrs. Jennings decided to switch the partners up for their final project. She'd been watching Stiles from afar since that first encounter in eighth grade; which would seem strange to everyone else since she was Abigail Stattim: popular, pretty, and smart, and he was Stiles Stilinski: hyper, loud, and weird. Most would find her basically watching over the hyperactive, Sheriff's kid to be backwards. She didn't know why she made sure he had his notes, other than the fact that her father's overly kind nature was definitely genetic, and there was something about his twitching and spazzing that she found endearing. She had to hold in her giggles when she caught a glimpse of him talking, flailing really, to Scott McCall.

That was also a lie; not the giggling part or the part where she had inherited her father's kindness, but the part where she wasn't sure: lie. She knew exactly why she found him to be endearing- it was the same reason she felt a hole in her chest every once in a while, he reminded her of someone. Someone extremely special.

That's why when he was named as her partner, she immediately invited him over. He accepted, of course. She lived in a freaking castle; he'd have to be a complete idiot not to accept, and no matter what the general consensus was, Stiles was no idiot. Cute, yes. Stupid, no.

The rest of Abi's day was spent avoiding Dennis and his little band of goons. She'd even convinced Lydia to eat in the library with her at lunch just to get away from them. It was smothering, having someone so fixated on you. It was as if she could literally feel him eying her through the walls. The little flutters her chest did at the thought of him actually wanting to work it out weren't helping one damn bit, and neither was the nagging voice in her head begging her to give him one more shot. _Just one. This time it will be different. He deserves one more chance._

By the end of the day, she just wanted to hit something.

She was shoving her books into her locker when she heard Stiles' voice. She quickly turned and saw him and Scott heading toward the locker rooms. Scott was smiling and rolling his eyes at his friend who was, as always, using his entire body to speak. Quickly, Abi shut her locker and walked up to them. She had caught Stiles off guard and he almost skidded to a stop in front of her.

His face flushed immediately and he stammered out a, "Ohey, Abi," and then started rambling about telling Scott how they were working on the project that night. Scott was barely holding in his laughter.

Abi grinned at Stiles' behavior before asking if Hawaiian pizza, her personal favorite, was okay for supper. "Todd needs to know beforehand," she told him. This was another complete lie; her chef could make anything and everything on the spot. She had spent an entire month testing him when he was first hired on two years ago, but she needed an excuse to talk to Stiles other than just saying, "Hey, I like your face and the way you talk." While she was almost positive that statement would go over well with the kid, she had come to believe that Dennis had spies planted everywhere, and didn't want to risk Stiles getting the crap beat out of him just because she said he was cute. Abi watched as he stammered some more and eventually had to be saved by his friend, who informed her that Stiles did, in fact, like Hawaiian pizza. After the pale boy agreed with his friend, Abi told them that she needed to get to softball practice. Stiles offered up a, "Yeah. Later," before practically running away from her. Taken aback, she raised an eyebrow at Scott who smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. He's just excited about practice," the teen offered.

"Excited about practice?" She smiled lightly, adjusting the strap of her fringe covered purse on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Scott scratched the back of his neck. "See you around?"

Abigail nodded as he stepped around her and walked down the hall to the locker room. She stood for a moment, looking at her boot covered feet before turning to head to the girls' locker room. Over the course of practice, her usual confidence started to waiver slightly. Abi knew she was pretty, and she knew she was smart, but something about the way Stiles had rushed off made her nervous. Maybe he didn't want to come over. Maybe she was the most conceited person to walk the earth. Well, no that was Jackson; but, she couldn't help but feel almost lonely. 'The big break,' as Lydia had begun referring to it as, had caused her to go almost into isolation. She was hiding from Dennis and his friends. No one of the male gender would speak to her unless prompted to for fear of Dennis and his friends. And, the ones that weren't scared of Dennis and his friends and actually attempted to speak to her, were usually crazy or strange or both.

She just wanted a normal friend. Someone to watch those stupid crack comedies with who wouldn't tell her to change it half way through. Someone who would play Just Dance with her without making it a big competition. She was sick of shopping and doing her nails and gossiping with her girlfriends, and sick of the responsibilities that came with a relationship. Danny was the obvious choice in the situation, but after Abi had accidentally outed his sexuality in front of his little brother who then brought it up at the family reunion the next weekend, their friendship hasn't been the same.

She didn't mean to, honest. She just needed his opinion on what lingerie to wear that night since it was to be her and Dennis' first night _together. _Abi had went to Lydia and Sarah first, but when she's tried it on for them, all they could talk about was her "softball thighs." In hindsight, running into his bedroom with a Victoria Secret bag screaming about needing his "big gay opinion" was not the best idea, but she hadn't planned on him helping his brother with homework at that exact moment. She'd been apologizing ever since.

Since 'the big break,' everyone was getting on Abi's nerves. Lydia and Jackson were all over each other all the time, and while that was all fine and dandy when she had her own man to get in bed with, it had begun to piss Abigail off. Sarah's recounts of her bedroom escapades with basically the entire school had Abi threatening to chop her boob off. And, the combination of Freddie's oh so gentlemanly texts asking her if he needed to come "warm her bed for her" and the out poor of sympathy that every slut in the county was spewing all over Dennis' Facebook wall had her contemplating abandoning all types of technology and living in the forest like a nomad. She could do it; she'd even packed a bag a few nights ago.

Maybe Stiles could be her normal friend.

Apparently, she had been spacing out because the second string pitcher she was practicing with, who just so happened to be the same pitcher who had hopped into Dennis' bed right after 'the big break,' smacked her in the thigh with a fast ball. Coach sent her home early, and there was nothing worse than dragging herself home early when DeeDee was her nanny.

"Sugar, wha' happened?" Her short, Asian nanny asked the moment she saw Abi come through the side door. She had been folding laundry, which was technically the maid's job, which was why Abi had came through the laundry room door to begin with; DeeDee shouldn't have been there.

Abi sighed and dropped her purse in front of the closed door before toeing her boots off. Her shirt came off next followed by her pants and a wince. "Do I really look that bad?"

DeeDee snorted before pulling some pajamas and a towel from the pile on the counter in front of her. She handed them to Abi, and gathered the teen's pants and jacket off the floor, "Not to anyone else, but to me, yes."

Abi groaned and trudged out of the room, making her way through the kitchen and the rest of the downstairs to head to her third floor bedroom. She called, "Nutella!" out behind her as she moved into her room. It was large, of course, and round with plush brown carpet and rich purple walls. Her room was one of the three that made up the tower. Below her was the library and above her was the game room. A fireman's pole started in the game room and went all the way down to the first floor connecting all three rooms. Don't you just love an eleven year old's mind?

She could hear DeeDee's soft footsteps following her as she walked into her adjoining bathroom and started the shower. She stripped the rest of the way and slipped under the water before beginning the recount of her day to her nanny who had seated herself on Abi's closed toilet.

This was a tradition that began as soon as Abigail started preschool. Right after she came home the first day, she wanted to take a bath. Her mother had protested because she liked routine and routine stated that baths happened at night, right before bed, but after a few tantrums and breakdowns, she relented and allowed DeeDee to run her daughter a bath. DeeDee had placed herself on the young girl's toilet and asked her why she needed to bath so bad after going to school. Abi had shrugged and said, "Jus' need to." Her nanny nodded and moved on, asking about the girl's day. That was one of the things Abi loved so dearly about her nanny, she took Abi's answer for what it was and moved on even if she knew there was more to it. She knew that Abi would come to her to explain eventually, so there was no need to push.

"I mean, really? Could Jackson take anything other than stupid lacrosse seriously? He didn't even know when the Civil War began. Why are all my friends so stupid?" She glanced out the fogged glass as she lathered her hair. DeeDee gave her a look that had Abi sighing, "Okay, not stupid. Uninformed. And then Kendra smacked me with a ball. I mean, it's going to be ugly and gross and now I have to work on this stupid biology project with Stiles. I **hate** biology. "

DeeDee's confused, "Stiles?" halted Abi as she began to rinse her hair. She had forgotten about Stiles.

"DeeDee, what time is it? Stiles was coming over after lacrosse to work on a project! Tell Todd to make Hawaiian pizza. Shit, now I gotta blow dry my hair. DeeDee hurry!" Abi's sentences ran together as she frantically washed the rest of her body and DeeDee rushed to tell Todd to get started on dinner. Cursing, Abi practically fell out of the shower, grabbing the towel off her gray counter top and running it haphazardly over her body. After wrapping her hair up, she yanked on her bra and pajamas. She swiped on some moisturizer before pulling the towel off and snatching her blow dryer from under her vanity. She was scared out of her skin by DeeDee calling her from the doorway-Stiles was downstairs. Abi cursed and gave up on her hair, opting to pile it up on top of her head instead. Forgetting that she was wearing pj's, Abi rushed down the stairs and came face to face with Stiles Stilinski who was being let in by Abi's butler, John.

"Stiles," she breathed, smiling before turning to John. "Thanks, Johnny."

The older man nodded and informed her that supper would be ready within the hour and then limped off. John suffered from some sort of hip condition that Abigail could never remember the name of. He should retire, but he refused to leave the Stattim girl. Instead, they shrunk his workload to only answering the door, driving Abi where she needed to go, and watching over the gardener. She watched him leave before turning back to her classmate, who looked utterly lost and slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry, I'm a little early. Coach got mad and said that Jackson and Danny were the only ones taking anything seriously and told us all to go away," he shot out, laughing nervously and making Abi grin.

She shook her head and motioned for him to follower her into the library, "No worries. Coach Polly sent me home to find my head."

Stiles followed her, his eyes darting around the interior of the biggest house he'd ever been in. The interior was just as detailed as the exterior with big, wooden pillars carved with intricate designs scattered throughout the open area of the foyer where a huge staircase sat directly center, leading up to the second floor and then the third. It wasn't what he was expecting the interior to look like. He had expected a lot of marble and maybe some granite or something, but the house seemed to be made completely of wood . Glancing up, he had to stop himself from gasping when he saw the seemingly hand painted mural on the ceiling depicting a naked woman turning into a tree.

"To find your- whoa," he let that gasp go as Abi lead him through an archway into a large, book filled room to the right. Starting from the top of the wall and ending at the floor, which was not wooden to Stiles' surprise, were huge stained glass windows portraying more trees and flowers. The colors being created by the sun streaming through bounced off the walls and walls of books, making the room feel almost ethereal. Two giant tan couches sat facing each other in the center of the room surrounded by even more books, each pile at least ten books high. Settled on the far right side of the room was a fireman's pole. A freaking fireman's pole.

"Sorry it's a bit messy. Georgina used to pick up the books, but then I couldn't find them, and may have bought more copies. We now have two or three copies of most of these books in the basement," Abigail rambled seeing Stiles's brown eyes scanning the room quickly.

"Those windows..." He started, but he couldn't form the right words, so he was left flapping his mouth open and closed like an idiot.

"They're beautiful, huh? Made especially for this house," Abi told him, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and looking down at her bare feet, shuffling them slightly. She didn't want to brag to Stiles, but she couldn't seem to shut her mouth up. He fidgeted next to her and she rushed to fill the air, "So, uh, we need two parts: the essay and the PowerPoint. Do you just wanna split it or do both together?"

"Um, together's cool. Is that a fireman's pole?!" Stiles looked down at her after he regained some composure and noticed the pole sticking out of the floor. He waved an arm at it, angling his body toward Abi's. A grin broke out on her face as she nodded quickly.

"It goes from the game room on the third floor all the way down to here," Stiles looked impressed for a moment before breaking out in a giant grin when Abi asked, "Wanna try it out?"

With wide eyes, Stiles let out a laugh. "Ab-so-lutely."

Still grinning, Abi turned and ran out of the room yelling for him to follow. She heard his backpack drop to the floor before his quick footsteps followed her up two flights of stairs. Abi lead him to the game room, which was also round with the same lush carpet as her room and the library. On the far left of the room was a giant, white square painted onto the wall to be used for the projector hanging on the ceiling. Beanbag chairs littered the floor, and a large shelf sat next to the square housing nearly every console known to man and the corresponding games. The room was devoid of windows, but instead had a paisley pattern painted in different hues of greens and blues with a few splashes of yellows and reds thrown in across the walls. Situated near the right wall was the fireman's pole.

"Okay," Abi began, stopping in front of the hole the pole went through. "The trick is to hold in your elbows and your knees. Seriously, you do not wanna bump one of those. Daddy did have these bumpers installed when I scrapped my elbow literally to the bone once, but it still hurts like hell."

Stiles nodded at her, his pretty brown eyes still slightly wide with glee, and motioned to the pole, "Ladies first."

With another grin, Abi latched onto the pole, pulling in her elbows just as she'd told Stiles to do, and locked her ankles around it. Her body slid quickly down to the second floor, and she picked up speed on the way to the first. Dropping just before she hit the ground, Abi rolled out of Stiles's way as he came barreling down the pole after her. He didn't let go, so instead of dropping almost gracefully like she had, Stiles landed on his butt, hard. Abigail burst with laughter as he groaned and cursed.

"I'm so sorry," she giggled, her face red. "I forgot to tell you to jump off."

"Yeah," Stiles grunted, laughing as he rolled onto his side towards her. "Thanks for that."

For a moment, Abi just looked at the boy. His thin face lit up with laughter, brightening his dark eyes. Red tinted his pale skin, and Abi had to fight the urge to reach out and run her finger from the bare spot between his dark eyebrows down to the tip of his adorable nose. His laughter died down and he suddenly looked nervous, like he'd just realized the position they were in, laying only around a foot apart on the floor, facing each other. Abi grinned before licking her lips and asking, "Again?"

His thin, pink lips broke out in another smile and he nodded before shoving himself to his feet and taking off toward the stairs. Abi called out "Cheater!" after him, rising quickly to try and beat him up the stairs.

They slid down the pole over and over again until neither could breathe anymore, racing to see who got to it first every time. Stiles eventually got the hang of it, after a few bumped elbows and knees that Abi couldn't help but laugh and tease him about. They lay a few feet away from each other, breathes ragged, starring up at the ceiling. Abi hadn't had so much fun that didn't involve shopping with Sarah and Lydia in a long time. It was like a breath of fresh air, just being able to act like a five year old.

"Supper's ready, and if you're eating in here, don' eat on the couches," came DeeDee's voice from behind them, and Abi craned her neck to glance back at her smiling nanny who was standing in the archway. DeeDee moved to reveal Todd as he entered the room, a pan of pizza and two plates in his hand. He was followed by John who was carrying a large platter of chocolate cupcakes stacked in a perfect cone. Stiles was shocked to find that Todd was Asian with eyes that resembled the woman's who had addressed them. Not in a 'most Asian eyes look similar' way, but in a 'are you two related' way. The two teens moved to sit up as the food was put in between them. Immediately, Abigail grabbed a cupcake and took a huge bite before offering Todd and John a "Thanks," as well as a groan of appreciation as they left the room followed by DeeDee.

Stiles eyed her before tentatively reaching for a cupcake himself. He pulled off the wrapper and took a bite, his eyes immediately growing huge as he sputtered out, "Are these **Nutella** cupcakes?!"

Abigail grinned, licking her teeth before discarding the wrapper to her first one and snatching a second. "I forgot I asked Todd to make these when I got home," she told him with another groan, quickly devouring the cupcake in favor of a piece of pizza. "Actually, I completely forgot that you were coming over which is why I'm in my jammies with wet hair. Kendra hit me with the ball earlier, and I swear I will never get used to being hit by a flying yellow ball no matter how long I've played catcher. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure she did it on purpose. These and good company make up for it, though."

Stiles felt his heart pick up at her words of endearment. He was pretty sure the only person who thought of him as 'good company' was Scott and that was probably only because they'd been friends for so long. He was under the impression that everyone else found him to be annoying, and he was almost sure Abi thought the same especially after he tripped her while they were racing. He hadn't meant to. His brain and his body didn't like to speak to each other some times, and before he could second think sticking his leg out to tap his long time crush in the shin, he already had. She, however just cursed him, snatching for his ankle from where she lay. He let her win the next few trips up the stairs.

He attempted what he hoped was an indifferent grin that also conveyed that he really, really liked being thought of as 'good company' and she should continue to think of him as such across at her, grabbing for a piece of pizza, as well, "Good company, huh? That is exactly what I was striving for. Spot on, actually."

"Mmm," she grinned back. "But, seriously that girl will never get off the bench the way she pitches. She rarely ever makes it straight into my glove; I'm always having to throw my helmet off. She says she's been playing for six years, but, Jesus, her coaches must have been awful."

She shoved another piece of pizza in her mouth and glanced up at Stiles, who was staring at her with a small smile on his face. Her heart raced and she abruptly noticed how she was rambling and stuffing her face at the same time. Quickly, Abi covered her mouth and swallowed, a blush rising up her cheeks, "Sorry. That was incredibly rude."

Stiles licked his lips, and smiled at her, "Nah. It's totally cool. Completely, one hundred percent a-okay."

Abigail's heart rate picked up even more as he lifted his food up to his mouth, his eyes stuck on her's. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and ran her teeth over it. Good company, indeed.


	3. Act One: Scene Three

I'm very sorry this took so long, but my daughter has began crawling AND pulling herself up on things. Which, as you mother's know, is 10000% more work than when she wasn't on the move. Also, my postpartum depression has been on a rampage lately. I could use some good thoughts and kind words in the form of reviews. XOXO ~hsc

P.S. I have no beta so if you'd like the job shoot me a PM! I'd really appreciate it! Onward!

* * *

**Walking Backwards**

**Act One: Scene Three**

When Abi invited Stiles over, it really was just to work on their project, and form an actual friendship that involved something more than their normal form of communication. Which may have been a little bit conniving, but in her defense it had been innocent. What she hadn't counted on was how good he smelt, pine needles and Irish spring, or how him being close to her would send her body into overdrive, which made no damn sense. It had only been a week! Her body should not be reacting this way, even if she and Dennis had fucked like rabbits. So, really, she couldn't be blamed for any of the events that followed.

After polishing off the pizza, they had moved to her bedroom to attempt the PowerPoint since they both agreed that the essay was a no go at that point. DeeDee started to pull an extra chair from the breakfast table up the stairs, but Stiles quickly grabbed it from her before she even got close. As he made his way up to Abi's room, chair in hand, DeeDee raised a suggestive brow at Abi who blushed and rushed behind him.

When Stiles made it up to Abi's room, his steps stuttered. Realization slammed into him like a truck and he became acutely aware of the fact that he was in Abigail Stattim's room after having acted like a small child with her and eating her food. No matter how he boasted to Scott, he hadn't expected the afternoon to be any more than them working on their project. Sure, he'd hoped that she might take an interest in him, even just a few extra glances and kind words would have made his week, but for her to treat him like an old friend? No, that had never occurred to him as a possibility no matter how cordial they seemed to be in public.

He took a quick look around her room, looking for her computer desk. It was neat, but not as spotless as he expected it to be being that she did have a nanny and at least one maid. Her bed was giant and situated to the left of the room next to two large windows which gave a breathtaking view of the woods outside. It didn't look as regal as Stiles had imagined it would, instead it almost looked like a rainbow vomited all over the room - different shades of every color of the spectrum covering every surface. Her furniture and bedding did look expensive, but it didn't all match exactly. There was a bit of randomness to it all that made it seem like she was probably an impulsive buyer. When he crossed the room to put the chair next to her's in front of a large, wooden computer desk, he noticed the grouping of hand drawn buildings and houses tacked up on one wall. He was moving closer to it to get a better look when Abi entered the room. Stiles made a comment about expecting her to own a Mac and moved away from the wall trying to not look like he was just totally invading her space.

She shrugged and replied, "I prefer Windows."

Abi tried really hard to work on those stupid Biology slides. Seriously, she hated Science. Everything was so confusing with the giant, made up words and tables and statistics. Give her a poem and she'll tell you exactly what the words mean; give her a pie chart and she'll stare at it for twenty minutes and still not understand what it's about. She quickly grew frustrated with the project and began jabbing at the keys like it was their fault she didn't understand different ecosystems and the animals that inhabited them, and Stiles scooted his chair closer to save her poor keyboard from death by poking.

Abi sighed and sat back, allowing him to take over. Glancing at him had either been the best or the worst idea she'd ever had depending on how you look at things. She was immediately captivated and couldn't take her eyes off that pink tongue of his darting out to run across his bottom lip as he fixed the information on the screen. Or how his long fingers flew across the keys. Or his freckles and moles that dotted his skin. Her body reacted on its own, growing warm and focusing on the way his neck moved while he spoke.

When he turned to look at her, expecting a reply, he was met with her flushed face and slightly parted lips; her chest rising and falling quickly and her eyes locked onto his. Caught off guard, he cleared his throat and and sat back in his chair, pulling his arms away from the computer quickly. Snapping out of her haze, Abi mentally cursed herself and asked him to repeat the question, but as soon as his lips started moving she found herself leaning forward. He stopped talking immediately, and pulled back a fraction of an inch but she continued, slowly sliding her lips over his. His lips felt wonderful against hers, and she nearly groaned when he pushed forward to kiss her back.

Realizing what she was doing, she yanked her body back, covering her mouth and apologizing profusely. Stiles held his hands up, and with a hitch in his breath - as well as a tint to his cheeks - he stuttered out a, "N-no, no. It's cool. You're totally forgiven. No h-hard feelings."

What was she doing? She just wanted a friend, right? Just a friend. Just something, _someone_, different from what she was used to. No relationship, no worrying about when they were going to call, no late night crying like a girl in front of Warrior with an open tub of Nutella; _just a friend__. _Her body was apparently going to object to that, however and she heard herself asking, "Could I kiss you again?" without permission from her brain, which was not functioning correctly at the moment.

His shocked expression followed by his, "Hell yes," had Abi giggling as he reached forward and pulled her back to him by her neck. Her laughter died into a groan when his lips smashed against her's. Her hands fisted his over shirt, holding him as close to her body as she could. She took control and slipped her tongue into his mouth when he let out a soft moan. His hand slid up from her neck to get tangled in her hair while his other gripped her hip, and before she knew what was happening, she was yanked onto Stiles' lap while he took control of the kiss.

The noises he made, particularly the groan he let out when he slipped his hands into the back of her pants to palm her ass and found that she had forgotten to put on underwear, played in her head like a symphony, and she met them with her own. He overwhelmed her senses, setting her body on fire, and setting her free. The next few hours were a blur of touches and sensations. Underneath all those layers, Stiles was hard and cut. Dennis, while his frame was large and he had an air of strength about him, was mostly squish. Stiles was one of those kids that was born with abs and protruding collar bones, and Abigail couldn't touch him enough. She wasn't sure when they had moved to her bed, or when exactly their clothes had come off, but the moment he pushed into her it didn't matter.

Dennis was a jealous lover; his main goal of getting to his ending as quick as possible usually left her wanting. But, Stiles, after some encouraging words letting him know how great of a job he was doing and one adorable realization that he still had his v-card, seemed to relish in taking her to the edge and pushing her over just as much as jumping off himself. By the time they were done, Abigail felt like she'd wasted the last seven months, and she felt _tired_ . Curling into Stiles's side immediately after he pulled out and rolled next to her, she fell asleep.

The shrill ringing of a phone shook her from her slumber some time later and she shot up, searching frantically in the dark for the source of the noise. An "Oof" fell from her lips followed by a groan as she fell off the bed and onto the floor with a hard thud, her bedding tangling around her waist. She blindly ran her hands around on the carpet until she found a pair of jeans. She pulled them to her, and fished the phone out of the back pocket before answering.

"Stiles?!" A boy asked, confusion thick in his voice.

Equally as confused, a bit taken aback, and still sleepy, Abigail replied, "What?"

"Um. Is Stiles around?" The boy asked slowly, a quiet laugh bubbling in his voice.

Pulling the phone from her ear, Abigail's body shook with laughter when she looked back to see one Stiles Stilinski sitting up in her bed watching her. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could see the huge grin his face held as he asked her if he could have his phone. Tossing it to him, her laughter settled down and instead of moving back into bed, she just laid down face first on the floor. Her arms crossed and used as a pillow for her forehead, she shamelessly eavesdropped on Stiles' conversation.

"Yeah? Thanks, dude. Nah, I'll, uh, I'll tell you later. Swear. Dude, I swear. Yeah, bye."

She smiled into the floor, "You could have just told him, y'know?"

Stiles' hesitant laugh rang through her ears, stopping abruptly when she pulled her body up, rising to her knees, stretching, and yawning before standing and wiggling out of the mess of blankets and sheets around her hips. She felt him watching her as she tossed them back onto the bed and retreated into their warmth with a sigh, shutting her eyes and willing sleep to return to her. It felt amazing to finally achieve good, deep sleep after so many bad dreams and so much insomnia, and all she wanted was to get back to it.

"I should, um. I should probably get going. I have like ten missed calls from my dad. Scott covered for me, but-"

Abigail quickly cut him off, not wanting him to leave her to an empty bed, "Or you could stay. I mean, if he already covered for you, there's no harm, right?"

He was quiet for a moment, and she was almost sure he was going to get up and start putting his clothes back on until she felt the bed shift as he slid back down under the covers with her. She grinned, and scooted up against him, molding her chest against his body and wrapping her legs up in his before feeling drowsiness take over again. She vaguely remembered him pressing a kiss to the crown of her head just before she slipped back into wonderful sleep.

They were awoken again by DeeDee yanking her curtains open and practically yelling that they were by no means staying home from school so they needed to get their lazy butts up. Abi sighed and pulled herself out of bed after DeeDee left her room, closing the door behind her. She stretched out her shoulders before heading towards her bathroom. Stiles's voice cutting through the quiet stopped her, "She knew?!"

Abigail laughed and continued on her way throwing, "Who do you think closed the door and turned off the light last night?" over her shoulder.

After a very satisfying shower, Abi wrapped a towel around her body and another around her hair before venturing back into her room to get dressed for the day. Stiles was sitting on her bed, pulling on his shoes when she entered. He gave her a nervous smile before saying that he needed to run home and change before school.

"We should probably talk later, though, right? I mean, if you want to. I've never y'know so just, uh. You totally don't have to. We can just pretend that it never happened. I mean, I'm me, and you're, you? So, it's completely understandable-" He trailed off, rising to his feet and rubbing the back of his head.

Abi couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness since they'd just been in bed, naked together twenty minutes earlier and quickly cut him off, "Wanna meet me after practice at the dugouts?"

He grinned at her and nodded before giving her an awkward, little wave and moving out the door. Abi sighed and dropped into her computer chair to process the last twenty-four hours, but then quickly leapt up to run after him. Holding onto the top of the towel covering her body, she raced down the stairs calling his name. She caught him as he was just about to head out the door with his backpack slung over one shoulder. He look at her with surprise as she came bounding toward him only to stop and press a quick kiss to his lips. She grinned and whispered, "See you at school," before abruptly turning and heading back upstairs.

The look on DeeDee's face when Abi came down to take her medicine before heading off to school had Abi blushing. And DeeDee's "Sleep well?" had Abi thoroughly embarrassed. Dennis had slept over numerous times, and DeeDee had always been aware of what was going on; the woman wasn't stupid. But, there was something different about the previous night. Abi felt almost possessive over it, like what had happened between her and Stiles was private. Her entire life had always been out in the open for the world to see and judge, and all she wanted was some privacy, not to mention she was still a little confused on her actual feelings and what was going on with her mind and body.

Sure, she enjoyed sex, and it always lulled her right to sleep, but the pull that she felt the night before was something different. The need to satisfy her desires overrode her mind, which had be screaming at her to slow the hell down. She felt embarrassed and worried that he would want something from her that she didn't particularly want to give. It was wrong to have sex with him under false pretences and she realized as John drove her to school that it was wrong of her to not fix it right away. Instead, she complicated the situation by requesting that he spent the night with her and then kissing him without explaining what she actually wanted. She was the worst person on planet Earth and the last thing she wanted was for everyone to find out about it.

She just had to keep quiet and make sure Stiles did, too. Without hurting his feelings, of course. Should be easy.

Everything was almost shot to hell when Lydia saw her face.

"Oh my god. Tell me now," the teenager shot out at Abi, her voice an octave higher than normal with glee and a devious glint in her eye.

Abi rolled her eyes and opened her locker, a small smile creeping up onto her face despite her trying to hide it, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, woman. You have that look you always had when Dennis got you off. So, tell me who it was or I'll tell the entire school you bought a new vibrator," Lydia's words had Abi laughing. Lydia was indeed her best friend, and she wasn't surprised that the girl knew what she looked like after receiving some great sex and an amazing night's sleep. Others might be concerned about how well the two girls knew each other, but they created their own language consisting of make-up products and hot guys' names when they were thirteen and you just don't walk away from a friendship like that.

She turned to her friend and, after grabbing her History book, grinned, "Do it. Johnny Knoxville."

Lydia, of course, grew furious and stomped off muttering about awful friends and bad tv shows. When she moved, Abi saw Stiles and Scott down the row of lockers. Stiles was telling Scott something with a giant grin and flailing limbs, and Scott was shaking his head. She caught Stiles' eye, and his grin grew turning into more of a smirk. She smiled back, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Scott made to turn and see what Stiles was smiling at until Stiles's smile suddenly faltered and his eyes grew wide. Abi glanced behind her to see Dennis making his way to her locker from the other side of the hall, and she deflated.

He had a huge grin on his face and he stuck his arm out to lean against the locker next to Abi's and block her view of Scott and Stiles, "Hey, Abi. Miss me yet?"

Abi scoffed at him before slamming her locker shut and stalking off. She ignored him calling to her as she went to History.

Who the hell did he think he was? Stomping around and making other people think she was still his, ruining perfectly good moments; he had no right. She didn't belong to anyone. She didn't want to belong to anyone. She was a human being, not a possession, and she sure as hell didn't miss him. At all.

Her frustration radiated off of her in waves, as she rubbed a hole through her notes with her pen. She saw people eying her all class, but refused to look at anyone. The class gave a collective gasp when she quite literally shot up from her seat and stomped out the door after the bell rang signaling the end of the period. She stayed away from everyone, including her friends, all day and took out some anger by hitting some home runs during practice. Coach congratulated her, and asked her to please hit like that at the championship game next week. Abi just nodded and went to put her bat up in favor of her catcher's pads.

When Stiles found her late that afternoon, she still had her leg pads on and was throwing up balls to smack with her bat as hard as she could. He called out a "Nice." as he walked onto the field. She swung around, her chest heaving and sweat drying on her forehead. Her hair was piled on top of her head again, and she was covered in red dirt, ruining her blue shirt and making her black shorts and sliding shorts look almost gray.

She breathed out a, "Thanks." before going back to it. He watched her hit a few more, her body curving upwards with each swing. He admired the way she moved in perfect form each time, and he was most definitely staring openly at her amazing ass since she was facing away from him. He had to take the opportunity to after Scott had laughed at him and filled his head with the notion that she probably did not want to continue their sudden whatever it was. He had just been de-virginized and the sex could not had been as great for her as it was for him. It was like a rule: virgins were no good at sex. He had been so wrapped up in her ass and his thoughts that he jumped when she turned to him and asked, "Wanna toss me some?"

"What? No. I mean. I don't know how. You'll end up with more bruises," he reasoned. Hitting his long time crush/girl he'd just had sex with twelve hours ago with a large, yellow ball did not seem like a way back into her bed which was the endgame here, after all.

But, she smiled at him and dropped her bat, running into the dugout on the other side of home plate. She returned with a glove, "Not if you just toss underhand. This will probably be tight, but if all else fails you can just smack the ball with it."

The look on his face when she grabbed his hand and shoved her glove on it made her giggle. It was indeed too small, and his long hand felt incredibly cramped. He started to protest but she was already pulling him to the pitcher's mound. He dropped his backpack at his feet, and she ran to grab the bucket of balls. She showed him how to stand, and dropped one into his open palm. With another grin, she ran back to the plate and got into position. He gulped before gently tossing the ball toward her. He'd played baseball when he was little, but the balls were a lot smaller and were thrown overhand; tossing them like this seemed unnatural. The softball went to the left and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Over the middle, Stilinski. The middle," she said tapping the end of her bat in the center of the plate.

Stiles blushed before grabbing another from the bucket and tossing it. This one went almost straight down the middle, and the crack of her bat slamming into it had him hitting the ground. He had seen a few of the softball team's games a few months ago when Scott decided to crush over second base, and there had been a few line drives that had him clenching up in the stands. That was something he never wanted to experience.

Her laugh rang out, and he chanced a look up at her. She grinned at him before asking him to please get up and "throw more balls at me." He obliged, and soon they had a good rhythm going. Neither spoke, but Abi felt herself calming down and evening out. Until a ball slammed into Stiles' stomach, then all she felt was fear and more embarrassment. Stiles felt the urge to question if he had psychic abilities, as he doubled over and groaned as he rolled onto the ground.

Abi let out a frantic "Stiles!" and dropped her bat, racing to his side. "I am so, so sorry. You were supposed to catch it. Are you okay?" She sputtered out, pushing him onto his back to look him over. He was clutching his stomach, holding her glove to it.

"I didn't realize talking involved getting hit by balls. Warn me next time, will yah? Also, remind me to not think so much," He ground out. She choked out something between a laugh and a sob and rocked back onto her butt. Terrified that he'd done something completely wrong and upset her, he quickly sat up, wincing. "No, I'm okay. Don't cry. It just took me off guard. I'm sorry. You're right, I should have caught it."

She waved his words away and rubbed at the moisture on her cheeks, cursing at herself for being such a baby and having zero control over her emotions. With shaky breath, she forced out, "It's not your fault. I just. Everyone's staring at me. And Dennis is _everywhere_ , I swear to god. I just wanna be left alone. I just need for everyone not to watch me for once. Just once."

Licking his lips, Stiles pulled her glove off his hand and tossed it to the side, "If it helps, no one knows about last night. Well, Scott knows. But, that's it. Not that I _didn't_ want to go screaming it down the halls or anything."

That earned him a laugh and she sniffed, wiping the rest of her tears away and smearing her face with dirt. "I'm sorry. I kinda took advantage of you yesterday."

Stiles looked at her like she was nuts, and another laugh bubbled up in her throat. "Are you kidding me?! You're Abigail Stattim. I had sex with Abi Stattim, okay. Best night of my life. Now, if only I could tell people. No one would look at me the same."

The slight dreaminess in his voice didn't do anything to soothe the anger that rose up in her. This was all that stupid asshole's fault. If he wasn't so possessive and freaking delusional, she could have a normal relationship. She could have a normal relationship with whomever she wanted, whenever she wanted. When Stiles asked if she was okay she shot a "No!" at him and immediately felt terrible for it, "I'm sorry. I didn't-" His concerned eyes just upset her more and she reached up to tug her hair from its perch. Yanking her hand through it, ridding it of some red dirt, she sighed and softly asked, "Will you just be my friend?"

He pulled away from her slightly, and narrowed his eyes, "You're _f__riend_?"

Confused by the way he bit out the word, Abi nodded slowly, "Yeah. My friend."

Stiles swallowed and looked away from her, laughing slightly. Scott was right, she didn't want him. She just used him; he was such an idiot. "So, we have sex, and the next day you tell me that you just wanna be friends?"

Her eyes widened at what he thought she meant, "N-no. That's not-"

"That's not what? That's not what you meant to happen last night? Or was it? Did you get paired with me and think 'Stiles is just dumb enough to not mind if I take his virginity and then just wanna be friends,' and decide to try it out? Why not, right? He's just the weird kid who's too hyper to take his own notes." He snarled at her. This was a side of Stiles she had never seen. The anger that fell from his lips could almost be seen, but what made Abi feel the worst was the underlying hurt and resignation. It was like he was more mad at himself than her. But, of course her mind twisted the entire situation and she found herself angry at him for thinking so little of her.

"Don't put words in my mouth!" She snapped at him.

"I'm sorry. Did I assume wrong? Please tell me what you really meant, Abi. Enlighten me," he scoffed, crossing his arms in front of him, looking expectantly at her.

Abi felt tears well back up in her eyes at the way he looked at her, like she was the worst person on the planet, "I just want to be normal for once, okay? I just want someone to run around with and not worry about impressing everyone all the damn time. And someone to laugh with. And, and just be stupid with! I didn't expect you to look the way you do up close. I mean, your stupid face with your stupid little beauty marks. And the way your jaw moves when you talk. Who told you you could walk around looking so cute all the time? It's really, really distracting! And, I don't know, okay? It just happened! I couldn't control it."

He stared, wide eyed, at her as she huffed and looked out toward the outfield. Her leg was bouncing uncontrollably next to his side, her cleat digging into the dirt, and tears were beginning to seep from her eyes again.

Confusion riddled his brain as he mulled over her words. She had tons of friends and relationships. People followed her like she was sent from heaven itself. Hell, even he thought of her as an angel every time he found a set of notes in his locker. His heart dropped as he saw her as she really was: lonely. She was surrounded by people twenty-four seven and yet she was lonely. That he could understand. Swallowing, he gently reached out and wrapped his hand around her leg to still it, his fingers pressing the pad down against her skin. She looked back at him then, his brown eyes were large and comforting. He still looked mad, annoyed even, but he squeezed her leg, urging her to continue.

"I don't want a relationship," she whispered to him. "I'm tired of someone claiming to own me. I'm tired of everyone knowing my business. I just want to keep something to myself for once."

He looked down, his thumb slipping in between her calf and the pad to gently rub her skin. No relationship. She didn't want him, or anyone else, as her boyfriend. Sleeping with him had been a mistake, but she hadn't dismissed him. She hadn't ignored him and pretended it never happened. She still wanted him around, for now at least. "So, what do you want to do?"

Her leg began bouncing again, and he could feel her body tense back up. Her tiny "I don't know" made him want to fix it, and he decided that he could deal with whatever came next, be it going back to their former unseen, platonic relationship or starting a new, much sexier one. Stiles was rooting for the later. Looking up to catch her eye, he gave her a hopeful smile, "Why don't we just do whatever we want whenever we want and see what happens?"

Apprehensive, Abi bit her lip. If they moved forward with this, it wouldn't be the relationship he had most likely imagined in his head or seen on television. It definitely wouldn't be the one he deserved.

She swallowed and wiped at her nose, "We couldn't-no one could know, Stiles."

Nodding, he smiled wider at her and responded, "It'll be our secret. Like secret squirrel stuff. We can have a secret handshake and code words."

She smiled at the optimism in his voice, and relief washed over her when he gently tugged on her leg, pulling her to him. The stress, the anger, the pent up frustration melted away when he molded his lips to her's.

Far too soon and, he yanked away from her and said, "Birth control!"

Abi stared at him, confused for a moment before she began laughing.

Stiles gaped at her, "Why are you laughing? This is a serious issue! I did not use a condom, unless you somehow magicked one onto my dick, which would be simultaneously awesome and scary. But, seriously, I am not even ready for a mini Stiles. I mean, I had a dream once of a mini me and he was cool and had a ray gun that turned things into ice cream, which was also pretty cool, but I'm pretty sure those don't exist. And, babies don't just come out half grown brandishing ray guns-"

Abigail was losing it next to him with the image of a short Stiles turning things into ice cream and screaming obscenities in her head. "Stiles," she managed after he ranted on for a few more minutes about baby blankets and small mohawks and, oddly enough, circumcision. "I'm on the pill."

The look of relief that flooded his face brought more giggles from Abi as she leaned forward again to continue what had been started.

After a few minutes, he pulled away again to grin at her and whisper, "You really think I'm cute?"

Giving him a dramatic sigh and an eye roll, Abi pushed her lips back onto his for the third time and decided that she would definitely enjoy being a secret squirrel.


	4. Act One: Scene Four

My house caught fire, my dog didn't make it. Everyone else was out of the house and is fine. Also, Beta? xoxo ~hsc

* * *

**Walking Backwards**

**Act One: Scene Four**

Scott didn't believe a word Stiles said. There was no way he not only made out with, but lost his virginity to _Abigail Stattim_. No way in hell. This was Stiles Stilinski, the kid who still owned, and used, the same Rugrats sheets he'd gotten for his sixth birthday. He was a mess, always rushing around everywhere and getting in trouble, usually dragging Scott down with him. Scott loved his best friend, but he couldn't help the confusion and disbelief that bubbled in his gut, not to mention the jealousy that was pushing against his skull. Scott had always been certain that of the two of them, he'd be the first to lose his viginity. He didn't have much going for him, but he was definitely more attractive than Stiles. He had bigger muscles, anyway.

Scott's perplexed mind turned worried, however, when Stiles spoke of meeting Abi after school to "talk." If there was anything TV had taught him, it was that when a girl wants to talk, it's bad news and usually ends in heartbreak. A small part of Scott's mind told him that those soap operas his mom pretended she didn't TiVo made everything out to be much more dramatic than it actually was in real life, but the majority of his mind was going crazy waiting on Stiles' bed after school. He was sniping a guy from Canada and shoving Cheetos in his mouth when said friend burst through the bedroom door, clothes askew and face flushed. Scott's mind automatically flew to the worst possible conclusion and he jumped up from Stiles' bed and began checking for injuries, "Oh my god, he found you, didn't he? Did he hit you? I bet he hit you. How many of his friends were there? I'll call your dad-"

Stiles spun around Scott and put as much distance between them as possible, using his backpack like a riot shield, "What, no. Stop touching me, god. Get away, you freak."

Scott drew back, keeping one hand on the backpack, and drew his brows together at Stiles' words, "No?"

"No! No one saw us. Well, I'm pretty sure John saw us since he was waiting in the parking lot for her-"

"Who the hell is John?"

Stiles groaned and shook Scott's hand off his bag to throw it in the corner of his room, "Not important, at all!"

"Then tell me what happened!" Scott felt the not so unfamiliar urge to strangle Stiles.

"The second best night of my life! We are gonna be friends!" At that Stiles' face broke into a grin the size of California, and Scott's angry urge faded into more confusion.

"Friends?" He asked slowly, voice laden with disbelief.

"Yeah, man. It's gonna be great!"

"So, no relationship? You're not gonna be, like, together?" Scott was trying to connect the dots, but was having a hard time connecting "second best night of my night" to being just friends.

"Nah, no boyfriend girlfriend title or anything. No connection, just a purely physical friendship. Friends with benefits, kinda. But, on the down low, y'know."

Scott watched Stiles move through his answer and felt his anger returning, coupled with pity. Abi just wanted Stiles as a plaything, someone to call whenever she felt the urge, "Sounds like she used you, bro."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Scott winced. That phrase was harsh, maybe even a little uncalled for, but Scott couldn't quietly stand by and watch his best friend be used by some rich heiress. The kid felt emotions like no one else, and Scott was sure he would put much more stock in this new "friendship" than Abigail would. It would lead to disaster.

Stiles' face hardened and he sucked in a quick breath through flared nostrils before speaking, "What?"

"Seriously, dude. Please explain this to me, because where I'm sitting it looks like she just wants someone to come running when she calls them," Stiles' anger could be seen radiating off his body, Scott would swear to it.

"You don't know anything!" Stiles yelled at Scott, his body rigged and tight as he jammed a finger at his friend.

"I know that she is just fucking with you!" Scott yelled back. He was just trying to help Stiles see what was happening, was that so wrong?

"Get out!" Stiles bellowed. "Get out of my house!"

"Fine!" Scott hastily gathered up his pack and snatched the bag of Cheetos from Stiles' bed on his way to the door. "Don't call me when she decides she's done with you!"

Scott heard Stiles kick the door shut as he stomped down the stairs. What a load of good trying to be a decent friend did. Just as he reached the front door, he heard Stiles' bedroom door open and quick footsteps coming down toward him. Expecting Stiles to throw something at him, or at least have a few more words to say, Scott rolled his eyes and yanked the door open.

"Wait," came Stiles' voice followed by a hand on Scott's shoulder.

"What? Wanna call me a few names or something?" Scott asked, spinning around to face the threat head on.

"No, I just-" Stiles didn't look angry. He looked resigned, with a glint of sadness behind his eyes which caused Scott's eyebrows to pull together and his anger to redirect away from his friend. "So what?"

"Huh?"

Stiles shrugged, "So what if she's using me? I mean, there's no other way on Earth that Abigail would want to actually date me, so why don't I just take what I can get?"

Scott's heart broke for his friend. Sure, the two of them weren't the most popular or most good looking or even most talented teenagers in Beacon Hills, but they weren't hideous or complete nerds or anything. Didn't they deserve a real relationship? One that didn't involve lies and secrecy? "Dude, you-"

"I am completely okay with being a booty call to Abigail Stattim. Plus, she's actually kind of fun to be around. I promise to still have bro time, when I'm not getting it wet."

The smile on his friend's face made Scott's eyes roll. He still felt apprehensive about the situation, and even Stiles' sanity, but he kind of understood. If a hot girl offered him commitment free sex, he'd definitely take it. Now he just had to wait for the inevitable fall out, and try to make sure his friend was okay afterward.

Sighing, Scott held the bag of Cheetos toward Stiles, "Got any more? I ate most of them."

He was glad when Stiles snatched the bag and moved toward the kitchen, groaning about fatasses. He would be supportive until things went awry, then he would be the shoulder for Stiles to lean on, just like always.

* * *

Stiles was having a shit morning. His alarm didn't go off, thank you Apple, and they were out of orange juice. Starting his morning running late with no orange juice did not a happy Stiles make. Not to mention, the sort of fight he and Scott had had the night before still weighed heavily in his mind. He hadn't expected Scott's angry reaction or his mean words, and a few of them hit home. Stiles wasn't an idiot. He knew that Abi was using him and he was fairly certain that he truly was okay with it, but it still felt hard to swallow when he thought too hard about it.

Stiles ran into school just as the warning bell rang, and he sprinted to his first class. After that intitial frenzy, his day slowed. It drug on in a combination of boring subjects and monotone teachers, and Stiles found himself watching the clock not for the end of the day but for Biology.

Would anything be different? A large part of him overflowed with the hope that she would call him out somehow, suddenly decide that everyone should know what had transpired between them and run dramatically into his arms in front of the entire school where he would scoop her up, kissing her soundly to a chorus of gasps and whoops and hollers. Maybe Dennis would come forward and try to pick a fight with Stiles, who would land an amazing punch right to Dennis' jaw, successfully knocking him out, of course. A small, faint part of him warned that he was getting carried away.

He was disapointed when he walked into class to find Abi hadn't arrived yet, and was defeated when Lydia walked in with Abi held firmly by the arm. They were supposed to sit with their lab partners, but Lydia put up a very good argument against it, saying something about not getting enough "bestie time" in. Mrs. Jennings bought it. Stiles suspected she just gave in to shut Lydia up.

Mrs. Jennings' voiced droaned on like the rest of Stiles' morning had, and he felt his eyes starting to shut when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

_Wanna come over tomorrow?_

The text came from an unknown number, so Stiles replied, _who is this?_

He grinned when they texted back, and turned to see Abi smiling at him while Lydia rambled on about something next to her. _You're adorable when you're confused but we really really have to finish that project._

How she had found his number, he had no clue, but his magical theories seemed to have acquired more supporting evidence.

_if its anything like the last time im in._ The thought of jumping back into Abi's bed made Stiles' blood pressure sky rocket. The way she wiggled underneath him alone gave him enough spank material for a year. He shifted trying to control his blood from rushing south.

_After. I am not failing._

He quickly agreed and suddenly couldn't wait for the next day.

* * *

They finished the project and not only did they not fail, they got an A. Abigail sent him a text later saying You're awesome and Stiles had walked with a bounce in his step the rest of the day. When she smiled at him and kissed him under the dug out that afternoon, he thought he was dying.

* * *

The last few weeks of school flew by in a haze of finals and sex. Abigail, as it turned out, was constantly horny. She texted Stiles at all hours, asking him to come over. Once she met him at a park-he would never be able to look at that playground the same way again. In hindsight, that little escapade had been pretty stupid being that his father was the sheriff, but you live and you learn.

They didn't talk much, Abi tended to meet him at her bedroom doorway with a kiss and drag him inside in lieu of a greeting. He wasn't about to complain.

There were a few times when he got up to leave that he looked over and thought he saw an odd pattern appear on her skin as she slept, but when he went to examine it closer, her skin was normal. He chalked it up to being tired and never mentioned it to her.

He wasn't surprised to receive a video call from her a few days after school ended. It turned out to be one of her favorite ways of communicating with him, or summoning him, however you want to look at it; she had called him naked a few days ago. This time, however she was fully clothed.

Instead of immediately requesting his presence, she beamed at him and said, "I caught the winning ball, Stiles!"

"I know, I saw," Stiles grinned back at her. Even if they weren't in a relationship, he still liked to know what she was up to. It had crossed his mind that the habit of keeping up with her schedule may be unnecessary, even slightly creepy, but it wasn't like he had to actually work at it. Everyone knew that their softball team was playing the last game of the championships the last day of school, and she had added him on Facebook. Abi wasn't one of those who updated every few hours and uploaded tons of pictures, but Lydia was. Nine times out of ten, the two girls and Sarah were together and Stiles' feed was littered with updates.

Abi's happy face faltered slightly, confusion overtaking her brow, "You saw?"

"Yeah, it's all over the school's website," He watched as she scrambled to bring up the site, her face flying through emotions as she watched a video of herself flinging off her catcher's helmet to catch a fly ball only a foot in front of home plate. Her team had surrounded her almost immediately, cheering and holding her up, and Abi's face grew soft with remembrance and pride.

Stiles heard the sound from the video cut out before the sound of Abi's fingers flying over her keyboard came through his speakers, and when he asked what she was doing he smiled at her response, "Emailing this to Daddy."

He knew about as much as everyone else did about Abi's family situation. Her mother and father were only around a few weeks out of the year, which would make for some pretty ample party time. But, as far as Stiles knew, there had never been a party at the mansion. He did know, however, that her father was one of the best developers in California; he'd learned that from one of his dad's Fortune magazines. And, thanks to super market tabloids, he knew that Abi's mother spent most of her free time in the L.A. party scene. He wasn't sure how Abigail felt about her parents, but her being so excited about emailing the video to her dad told him that she still sought his approval. Her eyes snapped back to her webcam and he knew he had her full attention again.

Stiles cleared his throat, weighing in his mind how his next few words would go over- or if he should say them at all-before saying fuck it and telling Abi, "I'm proud of you."

Her eyes widened and she angled her body away from the computer slightly, looking somewhat uncomfortable and Stiles rushed to cover up his mistake.

"That means you'll be first line next year, right?" He spat out quickly.

Abi nodded slowly, her body still held rigid, "Yeah, I'll be the first sophomore to be first string."

"Bad-ass!" He grinned, throwing both fists into the air and nearly sighing with relief when Abi's body relaxed and she gave him a small smile in return.

She sat there, staring at him with that gentle smile on her face for a few moments before turning her chin up in contemplation. Stiles had began chewing his lip, his nerves taking over his mind, when Abi finally spoke, "Wanna go on a hike?"

He knitted his brow at her, taken aback by the question. She was never shy about what she wanted and always asked outright if he wanted to come over and fuck, so her asking him to hang out was unusual, "A hike?"

"Behind my house," she nodded, shrugging like this was the most normal conversation in the world and Stiles should not be freaking out internally. "It's really peaceful back there and there's this drop off where you can see part of the interstate. It's not too far away, I mean, it may be harder for you since lacrosse isn't as physically demanding as softball-"

At that Stiles' mouth hung open and he sputtered, "Isn't as physically demanding?!"

"Uh, yeah. Softball's way harder," Abi grinned at him, cheekily.

He stared at her, mouth still open and flopping like a fish's, "Are you nuts?! Do you know how much running lacrosse takes?"

"Do much running from the bench, then?" She teased, her bottom lip slipping in between her teeth. Stiles' heart sputtered, the feeling of embarrassment gone and replaced with a warm feeling.

"You would know, second string catcher," he shot back out at her, a smile playing on his lips.

"I'm first string now! Don't forget, big boy," she grinned.

He groaned at her choice of words and shoved away from his desk to grab his shoes, "I'll show you, alright? I'll bike all the way to your house and then we'll go on a hike. And _then,_ when you're too tired from the hike, I'll carry you're ass back."

He just barely caught her, "Is that so?" before rushing out his door. He made it to the mansion in record time, and found her laying in the middle of the driveway in a pair of cut off shorts and a tank top, her hair piled on top of her head as per usual. He skidded to a stop, breathe ragged, in front of her. She sat up, grinning at him and asked if he was sure he didn't need to rest up before they began their hike. He had snarled a, "No" at her, pulling at his sweaty shirt that was sticking to his back, and he _was_ fine until they came to a steep hill that required actual climbing to get up it. If he stayed behind her much longer while she was in those shorts, he may need more than a small rest. When they made it to the top, they were met with one of the most beautiful sights Stiles had ever seen.

There was about five feet of flat ground before it dropped off into a hill so steep it looked like a water park slide, one of the open ones you had to cross your arms mummy style on. It looked over a large chunk of the interstate that ran outside of town. In normal circumstances, a view of the interstate wouldn't be desired, but the way the forest framed it almost like a picture, made it breath taking. Abigail plopped down and sighed, tugging for Stiles to sit next to her.

"How'd you find this?" He whispered to her, not wanting to disrupt their serene surroundings.

Abi sat for a second staring out into the sky in front of them not saying a word, and Stiles wondered if he'd stepped too far, pried into her life too soon, but she answered anyway, "When we first started on the house, all I wanted to do was explore the forest. I found this one day and almost fell off. I've never been so terrified in my life. I sat here for hours and eventually Daddy sent DeeDee to find me. I just liked it; it's quiet. I came here when they left for L.A. after the house was done, and after I realized that my mother wasn't actually filming late every single night."

Stiles watched her talk, watched her become a sad, little girl he'd never seen before. The Abi he knew was always happy, forever laughing. She was confident as hell; she even had swagger. This girl beside him didn't seem to have any of that. She looked like someone had just kicked her puppy, and it broke Stiles's heart, "Why'd you bring me here, Abi?"

She looked at him then. He expect her to be crying, but she wasn't. She just looked tired, "I'm not sure."

Just then the sky opened up and rain poured from it. They cursed and jumped up, covering their heads. Rushing to get back to the house, Abi tripped going down the hill and grabbed Stiles's arm, yanking him down with her. They rolled, and Stiles's first instinct was to pull her to him, to take the brunt of the fall. They landed at the bottom, completely soaked and covered in mud. Abi had ended up on top, and Stiles didn't dare complain.

They sat there for a few beats, the rain crashing around them despite the bright sun in the sky. Having her pressed so close against him while dripping wet was causing Stiles's imagination to race. When she went to pull off of him, asking if he was okay, he wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to pull her back down by her neck. There was nothing slow about the way she kissed him back. She nipped and sucked, and rocked her body down into his with need and desire. Not wasting any time, he reached down to unzip her shorts and yank them off.

"Christ, do you even own underwear?" He groaned, causing her to laugh as she sat up, smiling down at him.

The sight of her was almost too much to bare; her lower half naked and her tank top clinging to her curves with water running down her and onto him. Before he knew it she had his pants pulled down and had leaned forward to slip him inside her.

If he thought her wiggling under him was the best thing he would ever experience, he was so wrong. The sight of her riding him, gasping and running her hands up his stomach and chest, pushing his shirt up with mud coming off her hands onto his skin, was definitely getting locked into his head forever.

Her face and chest were smeared with mud and she had a stick in her hair, but Stiles was sure it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. And, with the realization that there was no way he was going to last long, he quickly wrapped his arm around her middle and sat up. He yanked one side of her tank top and bra down with his other hand to tease her nipple, and attacked her neck with his mouth, jerking hard up into her. She gasped and gripped his shoulders, her legs wrapping tight around his hips. He didn't let up until her head fell back in a almost silent moan and her entire body tightened around him. Then, he let himself go.

They sat like that until the rain stopped. She had let her head fall onto his shoulder, nuzzling his neck with her nose. If it wasn't for her pressing tiny kisses every now and then to his skin, he'd think she'd fallen asleep. He'd leaned into her, too, loving how her body folded against his from that angle.

Eventually, she sighed, "I think you got mud on my ass."

He barked with laughter as she pulled away to look at him, a sleepy smile on her lips and her eyelids drooping, "Have you seen mine? I think there's a squirrel making a nest under me."

Her smile grew slightly before she sighed again and went to lay her head back down. Kissing her temple, he coaxed her up and pulled his pants up before helping her get dressed. True to his word, and with some protest from Abi, Stiles carried her home on his back where she fell asleep.

When he got to the front door, he knocked with his foot. To his surprise, DeeDee, not John, answered looking a bit pissed. Okay, more than a bit.

"We fell?" Stiles offered trying to sound convincing. DeeDee's eye roll told him that he hadn't succeeded, and she ushered him inside instructing him not to get mud everywhere. When Abi woke up as Stiles was laying her in her bed, mud and all, and asked him to stay, he gladly agreed.


	5. Act One: Scene Five

I feel as though I should put a trigger warning for panic/anxiety attacks up here. It made my heart race writing it. Also, I want to officially dedicate this entire work to my BIFF. She hates Teen Wolf and everything related, but still reads this and offers helpful criticism and deals with my shitty habit of having epiphanies at the most inopportune moments, like 3 am. I LOVE YOU. See bottom for more. Xoxox ~hsc

* * *

**Walking Backwards**

**Act One: Scene Five**

Abi loves the summer. She loves the heat, and the sun, and the humidity. While Beacon Hills is hours from the coast, Spring brings heavy rains saturated with the smell of salt and sand and everything that is the sea. The moisture hangs around until mid summer when the sun decides to turn its rays up to full blast and zap liquid from the air within a few days.

Lydia and Sarah's hatred of those first few weeks of summer always makes Abigail's eyes roll. "_Frizz_!" Lydia tends to screech. "Do you know how much it costs to find an anti-frizz syrum that works? Companies change their recipes every year! Honestly, you would think someone would find one that worked what with how much money the hair industry generates. They'd make a fortune."

Sometimes that little speech is followed by her declaring that after she has taken over the world of Mathematics and Chemistry, Lydia will create said magic syrum and force all the other companies out of business. Sarah always agrees to be the guinea pig, and Abi agrees to fund the project as well as control the marketing. Then the girls sneer in Abi's direction and curse her rarely ever unruly hair before going to get smoothies. Abi always sends them both a box of beauty products as condolences. No one ever mentions it.

After Memorial Day weekend, even though summer hasn't technically started yet according to the calendar, Abi can usually be found asleep in a lawn chair beside her pool before noon. It used to piss Lydia off when they were younger, but she eventually got used to it. She continues to suntan until Abi wakes up and then picks up whatever conversation they had been having beforehand. Or, in the off chance Abi sleeps into the night, Lydia just goes home after helping DeeDee cover her friend with a blanket. Around the end of seventh grade, Sarah joined their group so she joined Lydia in waiting for Abi, albeit begrudgingly.

When Sarah asked why Abi always passed out in the sun, Lydia just shrugged and said Abi was a weirdo, but she knew. She knew that Abi rarely slept more than a few hours every night. She knew that Abi suffered from night terrors. She knew that no pill worked for more than a few weeks at a time. And, Lydia knew that the side effects drove Abi nuts.

The combination of the heat and the still air, as well as the simple feeling of being outside, puts Abi to sleep every time. There isn't a pill in the world that helps her sleep better than the summer sun.

* * *

"Is she out _again_?"

"Looks like it."

"God, sometimes she's so boring."

"You came here to tan, not to have an exhilarating conversation with Abs, so shut up."

Abi smiled at her friend's words. No matter how big of a bitch everyone thought she was, Lydia always stuck up for Abigail. From behind still closed eyes, Abi giggled, "Sarah doesn't know the meaning of exhilarating conversation."

"Screw you, I do so," was Sarah's haughty reply.

Grinning, Abi opened her eyes to ask, "Tell me Sarah, what are the two best ways to categorize architecture?"

Her friend's face twisted into a scowl and Sarah yanked her sunglasses down over her eyes. Abi and Lydia giggled at their friend until Lydia threw her a bone and asked about whichever lacrosse player Sarah had spent the night before with. Abi outright laughed as Sarah explained how one of the players really, really liked to be slapped and Sarah may have really, really enjoyed slapping the asshole until the conversation turned back to Abi, "So, how's the celibacy going?"

"God," Abi groaned, praying that neither girl could read minds as the image of Stiles' mouth on her body flooded her head. Their sexual adventures had become even more frequent since their fall in the woods, and Abi found herself actually looking forward to their encounters, more so than she felt should be normal. It was a strange feeling, sexual desire mixed with a sort of content-ness that followed him when he was with her. The latter she chose to ignore in favor of focusing on the disire that bloomed inside her. "Don't call it that. It makes me feel like a nun."

"You're one sexy nun," Lydia grinned at her, turning the page of her Cosmo.

"Sexy or no, never do I wanna be a nun," Abi shook her head. Those big moomoos and head things? Hell no. Well, maybe one of those short, naughty costumes with the stockings. She resigned to look them up online later. If there was one thing Abigail was always up for, it was trying something new.

"Well, I've played a nun before, and let me tell you, it can be a very good time if you play your cards right."

Abigail sat straight up in her lounger at the new voice, her mind instantly devoid of any thoughts. Snapping her head back toward the house, she saw her mother smiling at her in a tight dress with her hair curled perfectly and dark sunglasses over her eyes, looking like she just walked out of a god damn magazine. DeeDee stood behind her, staring straight at Abi with wide, worried eyes.

Slowly, Abigail stood, keeping her eyes on her mother's face. With a slightly shaky voice, she asked, "What are you doing here, Mom?"

If there's one thing you can say about Jessica Stattim, it is that she has charisma. She's that person that commands the attention of everyone the moment she steps into a room. She is considered tall, with caramel skin and dark features that match Abigail's. Green eyes are usually held open wide under the guise of kindness and naïveté and youth. None of her indiscretions seem to phase anyone after they hear her speak. She has what they call a 1-900 voice, which Abi has the sneaking suspicion is mostly a front. Her voice, combined with her pouty lips and curvy figure make it nearly impossible for straight men, and some not so straight men and women, to deny her anything she asks for.

With painted lips that were pulled up into a sickeningly sweet smile, Jessica said, "I had a little time off so I decided to come visit my favorite girl."

The words _favorite girl_ rang through Abigail's mind, bouncing around like daggers. She swallowed bitterly, and glanced at DeeDee. A quick shake of her nanny's head told her to just accept it. A gentle hand wrapped around Abi's and she looked down at Lydia's smiling, pity filled face.

"Sarah and I need to get going. My mom's cooking dinner for us. I'll text you later, kay?" Lydia didn't give Abi a chance to respond before she let go of Abi's hand and stood to gather her things. Sarah started to protest, but a quick look from Lydia shut her up. Abi watched her friends leave with annoyance; they were supposed to go to a party that night. It looked like she was going to be stuck with her mother instead-wonderful.

After watching the teenagers go, Abi's mother turned to grin at Abi again, "Come give your mother a hug."

Slowly, Abi complied with her mother's wishes, dragging her body like it was made of lead. After a small, awkward embrace in which Abi got a much too large whiff of her mother's perfume, Jessica lead her daughter inside, DeeDee following, to sit at the bar in the kitchen. Todd sat a full glass of wine and a glass of water out as soon as they sat down, and then disappeared into the pantry. DeeDee gently patted Abi's shoulder before excusing herself to make sure the master bedroom was prepared.

"So," her mother grinned sweetly at Abi, grabbing for the wine. "How is everything? Your daddy sent me that video. I was so proud, although your hair was a _wreck_."

Apprehensively, Abigail began telling her mother about the last few months. She envied Jessica's ability to pretend that everything was great and their relationship was normal. To pretend that she hadn't completely ignored her only child since Christmas. To pretend that she didn't ditch Abi for every young male she came across. After about an hour, Abigail had began to relax. She even laughed a little when her mother told her about falling into a pool on the top floor of a hotel in front of a hundred people. Momentarily, Abi thought that Jessica actually wanted to know about her life, and Jessica did seemed to be interested in her daughter's stories until she abruptly interrupted.

"Look at the time! Todd's cooking us dinner, why don't you go get cleaned up?" Her mother smiled, shooing Abi off. "Oh, remember to put on some concealer; those dark circles are horrendous! And, leave your pretty hair down!"

And just like that, her mother shattered any inkling that Abi had about her being a decent mother for once. She came downstairs after a shower to find her mother already seated at the head of their dining table, dinner placed in front of her. The table was huge, made out of mahogany with intricate patterns hand sculpted around the edge and continuing down the legs. Matching chairs surrounded it, and Abi tried to think of a time when they had all sat at it as a family without it being Christmas or her birthday. She couldn't.

"Oh! Look at you," Jessica cooed. "I just love that dress! Twirl for me."

Abi did as she was told, twirling so the skirt of her short, teal sundress billowed out around her. Her hair swished about her back as her mother crooked a finger at her, beckoning her closer.

"I thought I told you to use some concealer. Have you been getting enough sleep?" Her mother tutted, rubbing her thumb along Abi's cheek.

"I never sleep, Mom," Abi rolled her eyes, pulling away from the touch. While she had been getting more sleep than usual thanks to a certain someone, it still wasn't enough to squelch the insomnia completely.

"Go get my purse. We're the same tone," her mother grinned.

Sighing, Abi did what she was asked, letting her mother rub concealer and foundation on her face after she returned with the giant Chanel bag. Abi wore make up, sure, she even used concealer when the circles became too dark for her liking, but she liked to keep it simple. Some mascara and lipgloss, and that was it. The foundation sat heavy on her skin and she itched to wash it off; her pores were getting clogged. When her face was deemed acceptable, they settled down to eat.

Supper wasn't terrible. Her mother kept telling her to take her sleeping pills, saying that she'd buy her different ones if Abi wanted. She didn't. She'd tried every single one, and it always ended the same. She'd even tried smoking a bowl before drifting off, but that only intensified Abi's dreams.

When she told her mother as such,-leaving out the drug use, of course-she was met with an eyeroll and a wave of the hand, "Look terrible, then."

They sat there for three hours, until the food was long gone and the plates cleared away. Jessica talking about absolutely nothing while Abi listened, nodding and offering responses where necessary, in a much less enthusiastic tone than earlier, while tracing the pattern on the table with her finger and utilizing all the posh table manners that were locked away in her head. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that Abi perked up a bit, confused as to who was visiting, all her friends should be getting ready for the party by now and she hadn't asked Stiles to come over tonight. _(Thank god_. That was not a conversation she was ready to have.)

John answered it quickly, and led a man with long blonde hair and ripped jeans carrying a suitcase into the dinning room. Abigail's heart fell to her stomach, acid rumbling and beggining the digestive process, when her mother jumped up to embrace him.

"This is Kotah," she explained, looking like a love sick teenager, hanging off the man like a freaking monkey.

Abi's mouth hung open, and John limped forward to place a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder. Abigail's eyes burned with tears as she watched her mother kiss the loser soundly on the lips. _Visit my favorite girl_, was definitely not the reason her mother had flown to Beacon Hills. The realization worked its way into her brain and gut, and she quickly stood, her heavy chair falling back to slam against the hardwood floor. Her mother gasped and the wannabe Keith Urban asked, "What the hell?" but Abi took no notice as she ran from the room. She dashed past DeeDee, who must have heard the chair fall and come running, and out the door with her mother and nanny shouting behind her.

Her bare feet carried her deep into the forest until she couldn't breath. The woods swallowed her up, branches touching her skin gently and grass caressing her legs. Stones and roots dug into the soles of her feet, leaving stinging wounds behind as she pumped her legs harder, harder, _harder_, desperate to get as far away as she could. Sobs spouted from her lips when she stopped running, dropping to her knees on the forest floor. She leaned forward on her hands, gripping the loose dirt in her palms as she wheezed and coughed. The air around her moved softly, warming her skin and drying her tears.

She didn't know where to go. All her friends were out, having fun and dancing-_she should have been with them_. She was positive that if she called her friends, one would leave the party, meet her somewhere, find her, but some part of her held back. She knew who her mother was and what she did, and she knew that everyone else also knew. But, there was an unspoken rule within their group: noone talked about Abi's mother just as noone talked about Jackson being adopted or the real reason Sarah's family moved from Nebraska. Calling one of them would force the issue out in the open, have it bleeding, split and raw in front of everyone's face.

Digging a hand into the pocket of her dress-any other time she'd thank the designer for sewing pockets into the garment, but now all she wondered was when had she decided to put her phone in there? After wiping her hands on some moss nearby, she gripped her phone, quickly finding and tapping Stiles' name. He answered sounding as happy as he always did when she called him making Abi choke on another sob.

"Abigail? What's-"

"Where do y-you live?" She questioned quickly, standing to head toward where she knew the road to be.

"What? Why? My dad's-"

"S-stiles," she coughed out, seeing the road ahead of her. "Please."

After he sighed and told her his address, she hung up on him, turning off her phone and running along the road into town. She kept her distance from it, knowing that they'd be looking. DeeDee and John would at least, she wasn't so sure about her mother and that seemed to make everything worse. Her vision clouded the longer she ran until she barely saw where she was going. The forest seemed to guide her, opening up right in front of her. Staying off the main roads in town, she made it to Stiles' house much slower than she should have. She briefly registered that a police cruiser sat in the drive, but continued quickly up the steps to bang on the door. The sheriff answered, still in his uniform.

"Are you okay?" He asked immediately, his eyes wide and lips parted in surprise.

Wiping at her face, she tried to answer him but all that came out was a nearly incoherent, "Stiles." The boy came running down the stairs like he'd been summoned and pushed his dad out of the way, frantically yanking Abi inside and shutting the door.

"Abi, what happened?" He asked, taking hold of her shoulders and bending to look wide eyed at her distraught face. His dad looked on completely dumbfounded.

"She's not s-supposed to do that. This is my p-place," Abi choked out, reaching up to tug at her loose hair.

Stiles looked at his father for help; he had absolutely no clue what to do with a sobbing girl. The last time he saw Abi cry was nothing like this. This was huge, racking sobs and hiccups, not just a few tears. The sheriff gave his son an exasperated and confused look which was returned to him with gusto. After a few more silent words were exchanged between the two Stilinskis, the elder sighed, and reached forward to turn the still crying girl to him by her elbow.

"Sweetheart, you have to calm down, okay? We can't help if we have no idea what's wrong," He slowly explained with well practiced patience.

Nodding, Abi tried to calm herself by wiping at her face some more and closing her eyes to focus on her breathing, in and out. After a few moments, her breath was still coming in sharp intakes and she was still crying, but the sobs had subsided. She probably looked like a crazy person.

"I'm sorry," her whisper came out slightly frantic and she opened her eyes to see the Sheriff's soft eyes watching her carefully. "I shouldn't have-"

"Just tell me what happened," Stiles said quietly, pulling her eyes back to his.

Swallowing, she took a few more breaths before starting, "My mom s-showed up, and she never just shows up. B-but, I was like, okay, whatever. And then this guy just _comes into my house._ My h-home. My m-mother brought h-her lover to my house. What am I supposed to do?" She became more and more chaotic as she spoke, her words rushing together, eyes growing wide and her body beginning to tremble. "What if he was followed? S-stiles, no one knows I'm here. No one. I can't do it again. I-I can't be followed. They can't c-come here."

"Who?" The sheriff questioned quickly.

"Those _vultures_ t-that take pictures of famous people for a living. They can't know where I am," her hands went back to her hair, yanking her fingers through it from the roots to the ends, over and over. Abi's next sentence came out a harsh whisper,"They're going to find me."

She couldn't breathe. Everything felt hot, on fire. Heart thumping, trying to jump from her chest, rapid,_ too fast_. She tried to pull in more air, more anything, something, but it wouldn't come. Her vision began to cloud around the edges again as her brain was filled with old memories too long forgotten, too long ignored. They pressed against her bones, sliding down her body and engulfing her in past feelings and anxieties. Her blood felt thick, poisonous and flaming, running through her body and leaving carnage in its wake.

"Shit. Abi. Abigail! Dad, she's having a panic attack! Dad-" Stiles' voice sounded too far away, muffled by the offbeat pulsing of her heart. Suddenly, Abi's legs gave out and Stiles had to fling forward to catch her. "Abigail! Listen, you have to calm down. I'm right here, okay? I'm not going to let anyone get you. You have to breathe."

She clung to him, letting him rock her. Someone made a noise, desperate and shrill, and she realized it was coming from her mouth. It brought snippets with it: a car horn, a lady in a big hat, the flash of cameras,_ the end_. She was trying to form words, thoughts, but it all jumbled in her body, rattling around like nails in a tincan, and she couldn't tell them to stop, to go away. Stiles' voice cracked through her and she desperately snatched at the sound as he contined his words of encouragement, -_I'm right here,okay_?- grabbing for them like they were the last thing she was ever going to hear.

Suddenly, he pulled away from her, grabbing her hands. He placed one on his chest and the other on her's, right where their hearts were, covering her hands with his own.

"Breathe," he said. "Focus on breathing. Focus on me. Match your heart to mine."

Her eyes closed and she willed her hands to stop trembling, tried to do as he said, focusing on his smell, on his voice, on the rhythm of his heart and breathing.

_I'm not going to let anyone get you. _

The world came back to her slowly, shifting into place around her. Her breathing evened out, and she found that Stiles had lowered them to the floor. To his floor, in his house. She had ran to the Stilinski house. She had met his dad at the door. She had a breakdown in his entryway. Yanking her hands out of Stiles' grip, she turned to see the sheriff kneeling down next to them with concern all over his face.

Abi opened her mouth to speak, apologize, but the sheriff beat her to it, "Let's get you some water."

And then he was gone, moving into the house. She heard him rummaging around and the tap turn on. Turning back to Stiles, she started to speak again, but was interrupted by him pulling her back into his arms, "Jesus Christ, Abi."

He sounded breathless, and _relieved._

"I'm sorry," she whispered against his chest, feeling like an idiot and shifting her legs to sit across his lap. Her face felt raw, her brain pounding against her skull, lungs burning as oxygen filled them again.

Stiles simply sighed, and held her closer, burying his face in her hair. He held her like that, as close as he could without hurting her, until his dad came back with the water. He ushered them into the kitchen and they sat at the Stilinski's small table. Everyone was quiet for a while, adjusting to what had happened. There was a thick feeling in the air as Abi tried to disappear and the Stilinski's watched her with eyes full of pity and understanding. She hated it.

The sheriff was the first to speak up, "Are you going to be okay, Abigail?"

Abi had been staring at the glass in her hands, keeping her grip tight around it, her leg bouncing uncontrollably under the worn table. Stiles's bare foot slid across the floor to her's, and he pressed the top of his shin against her calf to stop her movements. She looked up to the sheriff and nodded, "I'm sorry."

The older man shook his head, dismissing it, "Not needed as long as you're okay."

Abi licked her lips, "I feel like an idiot. I don't even know why I came here, I just couldn't go anywhere else. I couldn't stay there, not with them."

Again, the sheriff shook his head, glancing at his watch "It's no problem. But, I do have to be at the station in twenty minutes..."

Abi bit her lip, "I can, um. I can call John and go home-"

"No," Stiles interjected. "Dad..."

Sheriff Stilinski looked at his son, rolling his lips and looking like he was going to say no before catching Stiles' pleading eyes. Sighing, he ran a hand over his face, "I can't believe I'm doing this- I'll be back at seven. I swear, Stiles-"

The teenager grinned at him, nodding quickly, "Yeah, Dad. Okay."

"N-no, really it's okay. I can-" Abi tried.

"You are so not okay, Abi. I'll take the couch, okay, Dad?" Stiles stood, ushering his dad up and out of the kitchen.

Abi kept her stare fixed on the Stilinki's kitchen cabinets as they left the room. She heard the front door open, and Stiles saying "I _know_, Dad." before the door closed again. Stiles' house was rather small, the table Abi sat at was old and well loved, counters clean and clear of clutter save for the full dish drainer and what looked to be leftovers from their dinner. Absently, Abi thought about her friends' houses; none of them were this small, all their belongings either new or old enough to cost three times their original price and require separate insurance. Danny's house would resemble Stiles' the closest, but was still shrouded in luxury. Behind her, Abi felt Stiles' presence. "I think that's the worst first meeting I could have ever had with your father," her voice came out small and rough, almost like she'd just woken up.

Stiles let out a breathy laugh at that, "No, you had clothes on. I think it was okay as far as meeting a parent goes."

She turned to him then, taking in his thin tee and frayed sweatpants. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she realized that he was probably getting ready to spend his night alone when she called. Guilt flooded her system when she thought about interrupting whatever plans he had for the night, XBox marathon or digging for iron on Minecraft or whatever. Abi swallowed, eyes retaining moisture again as she muttered, "I'm really sorry, Stiles."

"Would you stop saying that?" He groaned, moving back into his seat next to her, "None of that was your fault." Abigail nodded absently, eyes shifting back to the clock as he asked, "What really happened, anyway? You were a little, uh, confusing earlier."

At that, Abi's eyes snapped back to Stiles', panic starting to set in again as the thought of having to explain everything to him twice. There would be so many questions-how much did he know from rumors?-and too much to think about.

Stiles' hands shot up, palms toward her like a surrender, "Woah, no. No more freak outs. Just give me the gist. I got that your mom brought someone to your house-"

Abi laughed, loud and a bit hysterically, startling Stiles, "The gist?! Have you read any tabloids the past ten years? My mother is unfaithful, a whore, slut, whatever. She brought her lover here, to _my_ home."

Stiles laughed nervously, "Yeah, okay. So?"

Abi's face hardened, teeth grinding slightly, "_So?"_

Stiles' eyes widened at her harsh, accusing tone. His Adam's apple bobbed before he said sheepishly, "Yeah, I mean, if you already knew about all that she does then why-"

"She's not supposed to do that!" Abi screeched, startling Stiles again and scratching her throat. Tears began slowly sliding down her cheeks as she continued, "This is my space. There's a reason I'm here and my parents are not, and that's how it's supposed to be! She is supposed to respect that."

Her leg was bouncing again, more erratically this time, and Stiles leaned forward to take hold of her knee, halting its movement. She turned her eyes down to his hand on her skin which was grass stained and scratched from the forrest floor. He squeezed her knee slightly, voice quiet and understanding, making her even more angry when he simply said, "Okay, I'm sorry," instead of asking for more details. She let her eyes move back to his, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. His eyebrow raised slightly and he asked, "Are you wearing makeup?"

Taken aback, she tightened her brow and have a small nod, "My, um, my mom says my dark circles are horrendous."

Stiles' face turned down in annoyance and he spat, "Sounds like your mom's a super bitch." Immediately he yanked his hand back and grimaced, like he hadn't meant to say it aloud. Abi couldn't help the surprising laugh that came from her, hearing someone else speak so freely about her mother and what she was dissolved a lot of the tension and anger she held in her body. She felt lighter.

"Yes, she is," Abi smiled at him.

Stiles sighed and raked a hand over his face, "Don't do that again, okay?"

Abigail nodded, and after a moment held out her pinky for him to wrap his around. They held their hands in the air for a moment before Abi asked, "Can we just watch a stupid movie together?" She was tired, exhausted really and she didn't want to put any more thought into much of anything.

Smiling, he led her to the living room where he put in Your Highness and they ended up cuddled together on the couch. They watched movie after movie, making stupid jokes and pretending that Abi had just showed up for a movie night-_like a couple_, Abi thought before squashing that shit _immediately_- instead of what had happened. Abi could tell that Stiles was tired by the second movie, but when Abi whispered for him to go to sleep he played it off. "I'm good," he said, shifting to get a better grip around her waist. In the middle of the fourth movie, she finally closed her eyes, curling up into him with her forehead pressed into his neck.

* * *

He held her tight, breathing her in and rubbing the bare skin of her upper back, trying to recover from seeing her in such a state of panic, when he realized that this was the first time he and Abi had ever been alone and not had sex. Something about that made him feel weird, warm and fuzzy weird. He bitterly swallowed it with Abi's words floating around in his head-I don't want a relationship-as he gently carried her up the stairs, tucking her into his bed like a burrito, and taking a mental picture before going back downstairs to sleep on the couch like he promised his dad he would.

* * *

Some time later he lurched awake, glancing around trying to find what woke him up when he saw her. Abi was standing in the middle of his living room with his comforter wrapped around her, staring at his front door; her dirty legs poking out from the bottom. He called to her and jumped when she jerked her head to look at him. Her face was impassive and her eyes glazed over, like she was looking through him. Settling down his racing heart, he gulped and called her name again. She began moving toward him, slowly laying down next to him and covering them both with the blanket. He relaxed with a sigh when he realized she was still asleep, and settled back down on the couch, twisting to give her more room. He'd explain to his dad later.

* * *

The plan is for this to weave into the show. I'm hoping to be able to do it in a way that keeps Abi's story separate while still going with the episodes. We'll see how it works out. Also, y'all's reviews make me smile, so more of that. This is sill unbeta'd so if there are any mistakes, oops.


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